


The Love We Need

by LightBright



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Deathly Hallows Part 2, F/M, Holding Hands, Kissing, Missing Scene, Post-Battle of Hogwarts, Post-War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-17 03:07:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28842117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LightBright/pseuds/LightBright
Summary: What happened before Harry spots Hermione and Ron holding hands after the battle (missing scene in Deathly Hallows Part 2 film).
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley
Comments: 1
Kudos: 31





	The Love We Need

The battle was finished but the castle was in shambles. A shadow of what it once was.

Hermione had managed to find a clear bit of bench among the rubble in the courtyard. She sat there alone looking out at the damage, lost in thought.

So much had been lost. So many had been lost. Remus. Tonks. Fred.

Fred. She wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to forget the memory of the Weasley family sobbing over his body in the Great Hall. So much pain. So much heartbreak. 

That’s where Hermione had left them - still huddled together, trying to find comfort in each other where there was none. She had snuck away quietly. She didn’t feel like she should be there in their most difficult moment. Even if she wanted nothing more than to be with Ron right now, they needed Ron and Ron needed them. She didn't’ want to get in the way of that.

With a grin, she thought back to the moment Ron had called her his girlfriend as he chased after Malfoy. Against all odds they had survived and now there was a future in which her and Ron...

She heard footsteps approaching and knew without looking who it was.

“Mione?” came Ron’s voice.

Hermione turned to him with a small smile. He was still covered in filth, dried tear tracks breaking through the grime on his face. Ron took a seat next to her, leaving less than an inch between them.

“What are you doing out here?” he asked quietly, nudging her shoulder.

“I didn’t want to intrude on your family,” she whispered.

Ron met her eyes with an emotion she couldn’t quite place. “You are my family,” he said fiercely.

Hermione felt her cheeks heat up and looked away sputtering, “Right, of course, I know. But it’s different isn’t it? You should be together. You should be with them. To… to grieve together.”

Without hesitating Ron said “Who could I need by my side more than the woman I lo-” 

Hermione’s head snapped back up as Ron’s ears turned bright red. But he seemed to realize it was too late to back out and quietly finished with “...love.”

Hermione’s breath hitched as she stared back at him. Ron was clearly nervous but he didn’t look away.

“You love me?” Hermione finally managed.

Ron let out a small laugh and said “Um. Yeah. Thought that was obvious.”

Hermione kept staring at him and finally Ron became unnerved enough to break eye contact and scratch the back of his head. “It’s uh - it’s fine if you don-”

“I love you!” Hermion blurted out before he could continue. “I love you too. Of course I do.”

Ron’s face broke out into a wide smile and his body visibly relaxed. “Brilliant,” he breathed, turning his whole body towards her. “That’s… bloody brilliant.”

Hermione let out a small giggle as Ron reached up and cupped her cheek. She leaned into his touch automatically. He was looking at her like she was the most precious thing he’d ever held, and Hermione felt her eyes welling up.

“Sorry it took us so long to get here,” Ron said thickly, as if he too was overcome with emotion.

Hermione smiled at him and said “I wouldn’t change it for anything.”

She watched as Ron leaned closer and closer until their foreheads were pressed together. She could feel her heart beating wildly in her chest at his proximity.

Ron’s lips tentatively brushed hers at first, a barely there kiss. But then he finally surged forward and closed the gap, kissing her soundly on the mouth. Everything but the two of them ceased to exist. She blocked out the rest of the world. All she was aware of was his lips gentle on hers, so unlike their first kiss in the Chamber of Secrets. There was no desperation or fear, just love and a promise for the future. 

After a few seconds Ron went to pull away, but Hermione grabbed him by the collar and pulled his face back to hers, not wanting the kiss to end. He responded in kind by wrapping his arms around her, and pulled her against him. He kissed her with so much passion she thought her knees might have given out had she not already been sitting. Their lips met again and again, neither able to get enough.

Finally, their kisses slowed and Ron broke away, resting his forehead back on Hermione’s. The two of them stayed that way for a while, just looking at each other. Just feeling each other.

Eventually Ron cleared his throat and said in a raspy voice, “Will you come back inside with me?”

Hermione nodded and Ron reluctantly stood, offering his hand to her. 

He pulled Hermione to her feet but he didn’t let go of her hand. He looked at their joined hands and then back at her face, swallowed and said again “I love you.”

Hermione smiled widely back at him, the emotions threatening to spill over again. He loved her. No matter what horrors they had faced, the pain they felt, there was light in the darkness. He loved her and she loved him. 

Ron gripped her hand tighter before leading her back through the main doors to face his family together.


End file.
